Albany, NY -- The New York State Archives and Archives Partnership Trust
have selected Ana Luiza Teodoro and Steven Faiella fromTottenville
High School as the recipients of the 2013 Laura and Robert Chodos Award
for Excellence in Student Research Using Historical Records, Grades 9-12,
for their entry “The Snee Family of Heroes: To Commemorate the
Sacrifice of Three Members of the Snee Family Who Died While Serving in
WWII.”

A certificate and cash gift was presented
to the students at a luncheon ceremony at the Cultural Education Center
in Albany, held recently. Their
teacher, Joanne Nolemi, was also recognized.

Using historical records from
the Snee Archives in Our Lady Help of Christians School, the Staten Island
Institute of Arts and Sciences, the Tottenville Historical Society, and
the Snee family, the students researched three members of the Snee family,
William, Thomas and Martin, who died while serving in World War II. The
students examined newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, military documents,
photographs, yearbooks, census records, war diaries, and a memorial poem
to learn about the home life and military life of the two brothers and
their cousin, who were all raised in the same household. Using these
varied historical resources, the students were able to see the effect of
a world war on a local community. Their research enabled the students to
become engaged with and make a personal connection with the Snee family
and the events of World War II. The
judges were impressed with the students’ ability to locate and analyze
historical records, their efforts to connect with the Snee family, and
their desire to commemorate the heroism of the three soldiers by proposing
that a historic marker be erected at the Snee family home in the Tottenville
section of Staten Island.

The Student Research Awards are named for
Regent Emerita Laura Chodos and her late husband, Dr. Robert Chodos, who
created an endowment to encourage students to explore the wealth of historical
records in New York State. The awards are presented annually to a student,
or group of students, in New York State who have made outstanding use of
historical records in their research. They recognize student work for demonstrating
excellence based on specific criteria: using a variety of historical records,
drawing on information from those records, and interpreting and integrating
that information with creativity and imagination.

“We are very pleased to recognize the winning students and their teachers
from Walden Elementary School, Farnsworth Middle School, and Tottenville High
School for their outstanding projects which earned them top honors in the New
York State Archives’ annual student research awards contest,” said
State Archivist Christine Ward. “Each year, we invite students
and educators from throughout the state to conceive projects which utilize
primary source documents to explore New York’s glorious past. From
hundreds of submissions, we select the very finest. It is our hope
that the enjoyment that these young people and their mentors derived in
putting together these award winning efforts will make history relevant
for them in the near future and throughout their academic careers."

The annual Archives
Awards program recognizes outstanding efforts in archives and records management
work in New York State by a broad range of individuals and organizations. A
complete list of this year’s award recipients
follows:

William H. Kelly Annual Archives Award for Excellence in Local Government
Archival Program Development
Montgomery County

Excellence in State Agency Records Management Program Development
New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities

Bruce W. Dearstyne Annual Archives Award for Excellence in the Educational
Use of Historical Records
Dr. Kristi Fragnoli, Assistant Professor of Education, The College of St.
Rose (Albany County)

Excellence in the Educational Use of Local Government Records by
a Local Government
Holland Patent Teaching and Learning Center and the Holland Patent Central
School District (Oneida County)

Excellence in Research Using the Holdings of the State Archives
Dr. Carolyn Strange, Australian National University

Laura and Robert Chodos Award for Excellence in Student Research
Using Historical Records, Grades 9-12
Ana Luiza Teodoro and Steven Faiella; Tottenville High School, New York
City Department of Education; Teacher: Joanne Nolemi (Richmond County)